Arroyo's great-great-grandparents were Ignacio Arroyo and Doña María Pidal, who had three children: María Beatriz del Rosario Arroyo (a candidate for sainthood in the Catholic Church); Jose María Arroyo; and Mariano Arroyo. José María became a senator in 1919, whilst Mariano was elected governor of the western province of Iloilo in 1928. Senator José María Arroyo and his wife, Jesusa Araneta-Lacson of Negros Occidental, produced seven children, one of whom was Ignacio Lacson Arroyo.

Ignacio subsequently married Lourdes Zaragoza Tuason and had two sons, José Miguel and his brother, Ignacio Arroyo, Jr.[1]

José Miguel wed María Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal in 1968, and the couple has three children: Juan Miguel ("Mikey"); Evangelina Lourdes ("Luli"); and Diosdado (”Dato"). Luli married former investment banker and director of the Ayala Foundation, J. Aloysius "Luigi" Bernas on November 5, 2008 in Tagaytay Highlands.[2]

Arroyo's major project whilst occupying the role of the Philippines' First Gentleman was the sourcing of funds for the training of Filipino athletes in preparation for the 2005 Southeast Asian Games, for which the Philippines was the host nation.

The former First Gentleman's fragile health has been a public affair since April 9, 2007, when he underwent open heart surgery after being diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm. The procedure lasted for ten hours but was considered successful, and 22 days after the operation, Arroyo had almost completely recovered and was discharged from hospital. However, Arroyo's health since 2007 has been described as "questionable", with serious abdominal pains resulting in an emergency landing in 2008, and another heart-related hospital visit in 2010.[3]

During the period his wife's rule, Arroyo became the main target of attacks, including those against his wife's administration, and his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal [4] led him to opt for voluntary exile as a management technique.[5]

In 2003, Arroyo was accused by Senator Panfilo Lacson of money laundering with the use of a secret bank account, opened under the fictitious name of "José Pidal". The laundered money involved in the accusation was allegedly derived from campaign contributions received for Arroyo's wife's prior presidential bid. Arroyo's brother, Ignacio Arroyo, Jr., later claimed that the alias, and associated bank account, belonged to him, thereby countering the accusations against Arroyo. Ignacio Arroyo, Jr. currently serves as the Representative of the Fifth District of Negros Occidental for the Philippine Congress.[6]